I Never Had My Eye Set On Pursuing A Masters Essay

I began my social work studies over twenty-five years ago at Utah State University in Logan, Utah. I never questioned my decision to pursue a career in social work; I loved my classes and worked hard to learn as much as possible. But the information I gained in undergraduate school simply opened the doors of my education. Most of my learning has come through constant questioning, personal research, and especially through work and life experience. Through these experiences I have encountered the challenges faced by individuals, families, and society and have been able to further access and develop the innate personality traits and abilities that originally led me to study social work as well as learn and practice the many skills necessary to be a successful mental health counselor.

I have discovered that a benefit of going to school at a later stage in life is that I have had time to discover who I am and what is important to me. Every time I have thought about what I want to do with my life, it has centered on helping others achieve their dreams and goals. Human services is the right academic major for me because I am ready to make a positive impact in someone’s life and want to equip others with the necessary tools to do so. I am excited to be part of their journey to betterment, healing, and self-sufficiency.

After graduating high school, I was accepted to Alabama State University and decided to study Biology. I figured that this area would help me study living organisms, life processes and understanding the basic life processes that required different medical provisions. I believed that I would eventually find out if I wanted to studying medicine or counsel people. On May 7, 2011, I graduated from Alabama State University with my Bachelor’s degree in Biology. Then I volunteered at Jamaica Hospital emergency room alongside the medical providers and interact with the families of those who are medically

One of the greatest pieces of advice that I have received is that if you do something that you love, you will never work a day in your life. It took me changing my major three times to find what I am truly passionate about. After I changed my major to child and family studies I enjoyed learning everyday and applying what I learned from class into the real world. The knowledge that I obtained through my classes assisted me through my experiences as a nanny, a student worker for the department of child and family studies at Tarleton, and lastly through my internship at Gladney Center for Adoption this past summer. I had thought about pursuing a MSW since I switched to child and family studies. The few social work classes I was enrolled in have been some of my favorite material. Ultimately my internship through Gladney and my passion for adoption led to my final decision to pursue a masters in social work.

Within the past twenty-five years, my life experiences have led me to become passionate about social work. Although my journey in social work hasn 't been something I’ve always known I wanted to do when I was young, a combination of personal, professional, and academic experiences has pointed me into the direction where I am today. As the oldest out of four siblings, my family has always worked hard to get where they’re at now. Knowledge of my parent 's personal; as well as, their professional struggle of not having a college degree has led them to work hard for everything they 've received in their life. Acknowledging what my parents have gone through has pushed me to receive my Associates in Liberal Arts so that I will able to graduate with my Bachelor of Social Work in the Spring 2017.

My life is a bit of a rollercoaster. I knew what I wanted to do since a young age; however, different paths and decisions brought me to my goal in a roundabout way. After high school I decided to take time off before going to college because I was fortunate enough to have a successful career in retail management. Around the nine year mark I decided that I wanted to return to my goal of entering the medical field, which I was already in the process of doing by attending Northeastern and working towards my BS in Biological Sciences. My ultimate goal being to achieve an MS as a physician assistant. When moving into health care I started in the Urgent Care Department which was closely related to one of the fields I am interested in when practicing

I am not sure where I will be in ten years or even what I will be doing, but I know that I would like to be making an impact in my community and helping others. The only way I can imagine contributing in this manner, that would allow me to incorporate my interests is through either direct contact with members of my community as a physician or indirect contact as a researcher. Throughout my adolescence, I have cycled between different career options all of which centered around my main goal of making an impact. Upon entering Agnes Scott College, I envisioned becoming a medical doctor as the primary way to achieve this like many of my peers in an introductory biology course. Much to my surprise, the first assignment in this course was to dissect

One thing that I have always been certain of when it comes to my future is that I want to inspire, help, and have a positive impact on as much people as possible. I want to fight for those that have no voice and create any necessary social change in my community. The field of social work would help me accomplish that. Social work is a broad field where I would be able to work with various populations of people throughout the community ranging from children to the elderly. I believe that by pursuing a master’s degree in social work I will have a sense of deep satisfaction knowing that I will be prepared to face any obstacle in my future as a social worker. I am aware that social work can be challenging but knowing that I will be able to advocate for others that are helpless and fight for social justice will be very rewarding. I first became interested in social work seven years ago, after my aunt and her husband decided to become foster parents, I would help my aunt take care of the children, and they were all very sweet kids that I will never forget. My aunt and her husband were given the opportunity to adopt a 5-year-old girl and shortly after were able to adopt her newborn sister. It was a very joyous day for our family when the adoption was finalized. During that time I met their social worker, she was a very kind and knowledgeable woman that inspired me to pursue a career in social work. I admired how passionate she was about her job and how much she enjoyed making an

McIntyre informed me that having a Bachelor Degree in Social Work was rewarding; Nevertheless, she wanted to become an inspiring therapist. Therefore, she applied for the master program at Arkansas State University. She was accepted and in the summer of 2014, she started grad school. She did her additional training for the grad school at Day Spring Behavior Health. She was trained in diversity, social work value and ethical, and economic injustice with clients. Afterward completion of 60 credit hours and 400 field hours, she graduated with her Master Degree in Social Work, May 2016.

I decided to obtain my Bachelor of Arts degree at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, N.S. where I double majored in Criminology and Sociology and minored in Psychology. Once I graduated, I still did not know what career path was right for me, so I took a year off. In the meantime, I applied to three Schools of Social Work: Dalhousie University in Halifax, N.S., St. Thomas University in Fredericton, N.B., and Memorial University in St. John’s, N.L. I spent my gap year working to save up money so I could pay for my next two years of schooling. I decided to apply to schools of social work because I was really interested in my courses that were related to child development and behaviours, interactions between people and society, social inequality and justice, and human rights, which are all relevant to social work.

Social work is a career that finds and chooses you, rather than you selecting it. Social work has always been an immense portion of my life even when I had no recollection of what social work entailed. My life revolved around so many situations that had a social worker stepped in, my life would be totally different than it is today. Many individuals and agencies lack the compassion and empathy for oppressed people. Having been in many circumstances, has given me the experience and background that influenced me to go into social work, as well as the understanding of my role and responsibilities that I will assume as a professional social worker, and my reasons for selecting the program at ASU School of Social Work and thoughts on how the Mission Statement addresses my career goals.

At an early age I decided that I wanted to take my future in my own hands. I strived to not only to be the brightest or the most competent one of my class but I wanted to give myself the best opportunity to reach my goal of becoming a Neurologist or Neuroscientist. I worked through out high school to secure my Associates degree in Health Sciences as well as my high school diploma at the Academy of Health Sciences at Prince George’s Community College in Largo Maryland. Now I continue my education at Chatham University, Pittsburgh PA where I major in Biology, minor in Psychology with a focus in Neuroscience. Whilst in high school however, I worked my summers as a dental office intern

As I continue with social work, I developed an interest working with children and youth in a school setting. Eventually, I switched my major and was probably the toughest decision I had to make. Studying social work as an undergrad at Humboldt State helped me find who I am and what I want to become. I found a sense of belonging by developing a perspective of my own struggles while growing up. I realize how common systemic oppression affects not only me, but everyone around me. Understanding systemic issues, knowing the barriers that people face first hand, encourages me to want to work hard to fight against inequality.

After I graduated from the University of California Santa Barbara I was unsure what my next step would be. Of course I was anxious since I did not have experience working nor did I excel in my undergrad studies however, I knew I needed to use my newly earned degree in a positive way. Fast forward, after working for two years, I have gained the skills, knowledge and values from my work experiences that have confirmed my desire to advance my education in the social work field. I currently have my own case load of clients as a case manager at a level 12 group home but it’s time to take the next step forward. I want to ultimately advance social justice and provide services to assist individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities.

Every worthwhile journey begins with one step. My social work journey began when I received my undergraduate degree from the University of Utah in 2003. I thought my next step would be to immediately pursue a graduate degree. In my undergraduate career I had taken numerous classes from the College of Social and Behavioral Science and had done well in those classes. In my Social Work as a Profession course I had an assignment to shadow a social worker and write a paper about my experience. I chose to shadow my father-in-law, a social worker with over 30 years of experience, and in my paper I expressed my desire to go into the social work field. I knew I liked helping people. I knew I liked problem solving and critical thinking. I thought my 22 year-old self was ready to embark on that journey, but I wasn’t. I realize now that what I lacked at graduation was one crucial step… perspective. Over the past twelve years I have gained that much needed perspective and have taken many steps forward in my journey, and with those steps and that increased perspective, I now feel more fully prepared to begin my social work career.